Names Of Children, Parents Killed In Rural Illinois Fire Released

DIXON, IL — Parents and their four children, the youngest just 11 years old, died in a house fire early Tuesday in Lost Nation, a rural community near Dixon, Illinois, the Ogle County Sheriff's Office said. Police said 17-year-old Ethan Shaw called 911 just after midnight to report a fire in the basement of the family's home in the 200 block of Miami Drive. The teen told a dispatcher he was trapped in the basement, according to Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVinkle.

Firefighters who arrived on the scene found the home fully engulfed in flames, according to police. Ogle County said a Lost Nation couple and their four children perished in the fire. Late Tuesday, officials released the names of the family members:

• Father Timothy Shaw, 39
• Mother Melissa Shaw, 37
• Ethan Shaw, 17,
• Leanne Shaw, 15
• Hailey Shaw, 12
• Dylan Shaw, 11

VanVinkle said the family members' bodies were so badly burned that dental records will have to be used to identify them, according to the Chicago Tribune. Autopsies showed that the parents and children all died of smoke inhalation, according to officials.

VanVickle told the Tribune the roof of the home collapsed in the blaze. He said firefighters were able to enter the home only after the fire was brought under control. When they did, they found all six family members dead.

Authorities would not say where in the house the victims were found.

Police said firefighters from 10 area departments, including Dixon Rural, Dixon City, Franklin Grove, Sterling, Polo, Ashton, Oregon and Mount Morris, responded to the fire, along with an ambulance company.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ogle Sheriff’s Office, Illinois Fire Marshal and Illinois State Police Crime Scene personnel, but Van Winkle said a preliminary investigation does not show any evidence of foul play.

4 Children, 2 Adults Dead In Rural Illinois Fire

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